Dr. Richard Finnell

Dr. Finnell is a Professor in the Departments of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. A board-certified medical geneticist, Dr. Finnell has had a distinguished career researching environmentally induced birth defects, including NTDs. He has published extensively on gene-environment interactions as they relate to complex birth defects.

Dr. Richard Finnell

Dr. Laura Mitchell

Dr. Laura Mitchell

Dr. Mitchell is a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences and Associate Dean of Research at The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas. She has conducted genetic epidemiological studies of structural malformations for nearly two decades and is the Principal Investigator of one of the largest family-based studies of spina bifida worldwide. She has published extensively on methods for studying genetic risk factors for birth defects and on the characterization of genes that influence risk.

Dr. Philip Lupo

Dr. Lupo is a Molecular Epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Lupo’s research focus is on the determinants of pediatric and perinatal outcomes, including congenital anomalies. As a collaborator with the National Birth Defects Prevention Study and Texas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, Dr. Lupo has published extensively on the role of genes and environment on the risk of neural tube defects.

Dr. Philip Lupo

Dr. John Wallingford

Dr. John Wallingford

Dr. Wallingford has participated in the last five NTD conferences and will be involved in the organization of the developmental biology sessions.